Vancouver Centre (federal electoral district)
Vancouver Centre is a federal electoral [district (Canada)|electoral district] in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It includes the neighbourhoods of downtown Vancouver, the West End, Yaletown, False Creek and Stanley Park. The riding is relatively gentrified due to policy efforts; it has some of the highest property values in Vancouver, a large business and commercial district with office buildings and a large LGBTQ population.
Geography
The riding includes the neighbourhoods of Yaletown, the West End, Coal Harbour, Downtown Vancouver, western Strathcona, eastern Kitsilano, and False Creek South. The heavily urbanized electoral district is by far the most densely populated in Western Canada, with most of its residents living in mid and high rise apartments. The riding has a diverse, multi-generational demographic.Demographics
Languages : 55.2% English, 4.8% Mandarin, 4.6% Iranian Persian, 4% Spanish, 2.9% Yue, 2.5% French, 2.5% Korean, 1.9% Russian, 1.8% Portuguese, 1.7% Japanese, 1% GermanIt is the riding with the biggest Japanese community in Canada. As per the 2021 census, 2.4% of the population of Vancouver-Centre is Japanese.
History
The electoral district was created in 1914 from parts of Vancouver City riding.Canada's longest-serving female member of Parliament, Hedy Fry, has represented Vancouver Centre since 1993. Another high-profile MP was Kim Campbell, who was elected in 1988, served in Brian Mulroney's cabinet, then served as Prime Minister for 132 days before being defeated by Fry.
The 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution concluded that the electoral boundaries of Vancouver Centre should be adjusted, and a modified electoral district of the same name would be contested in future elections. The redefined Vancouver Centre lost a portion of territory from its southern end to the new district of Vancouver Granville. These new boundaries were legally defined in the 2013 representation order, which came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election, scheduled for October 2015.